Dammit, and I thought for certain the itching was gone for good. I look at the date on the post and think time flies and it still has not been long enough for the itching.

This time the itching is a little different in that the itching started after the third dose (1g each) of solu-medrol. Because of the steroids and the fact that they can cause itching I played a mental game for a while as to what was causing the itching. I thought there are good reasons why it is better if it is the steroids. Importantly, I will quickly end the steroids and the problem should stop. Also, if the steroids are making me itch that is at least a cause which beats neurotically scratching with no cause. I just have this mental picture of me in straight jacket in the psych ward because of my crazy itching. 🙁

Sadly, I do not think it is the steroids causing the crazy itching. Here are a few of the reasons that I think most point to a multiple sclerosis issue:

The itching is at the same location as it was 12 years ago, my left arm. That said it is now in my right arm a little too.

The itching is exacerbated by heat. Usually some of my worst itching is at night while I am warm under the blankets. I can mitigate, get rid of, the itching by moving out from the blanket.

Itching never relieves the itch.

The itch seems to come from deep under the skin.

I know people posted lots of useful tips on dealing with MS itching in the original post above. Now I have some reading to do. Thank you for all of your suggestions and tips.

Adding insult to injury I have now scratched too much! Eriksgirl noted today that not only do I have an injury from scratching, but that it is infected. Eriksgirl banned me from itching the one site on my arm, better to just throw me in ice bath to curtail the need! Now I get to go my family doctor about possible cellulitis. Maybe a take away could be before neurotically itching be sure to hibicleans the site, your hands, and clean out from underneath your nails. 😉

Eriksgirl marked lines on the swelling/infection to track to see if it was spreading. A few hours later the infection had spread

Another exacerbation another round of Solu-medrol. I will get into the exacerbation in another post.

Dr. fail in ordering the medicines. He ordered everything but something to treat the stomach acid. I suppose it is also my fault since I knew I was going to get this treatment and I am the one feeling the burn. Fortunately Eriksgirl thought to check the pharmacy from my last treatment and there was a remaining refill.

IV with the the Solu-medrol waiting to be mixed

Another difference this time is that the pharmacy did not mix the medicine in the bag leaving I decided to take a different tack this time so rather than a new needle each day go with an IV needle. I am normally a great stick but I think the Solu-medrol does bad things to the veins. Regardless the nurse was great and put on one of the best bandages I have ever had

We have a stream near our house and my son likes to hike there. He also recently tested out a new tent in our front yard. Apparently, in one of those places he was bitten by a tick. I think one of our neighbors voodoo cursed him because they hated the tent being up badly. 🙂

Upon seeing the rash we “bundled him up” and headed to the doctor for antibiotics. They were more than happy to prescribe them since even the IDSA recommends that course. We left with 3 weeks of twice a day doxycycline. They also ran the ELISA and Western blot tests, both came back negative.

With my son getting Lyme it reconfirmed what I already knew; the lyme labs suck. His should have been a clear positive for either test, and both failed. What chance do you have if you make it to late stage Lyme?

I am pleased to report that my son completed the antibiotics and the rash is long gone. I am very thankful he got the rash. I do not expect him to have any more problems.

Eriksgirl brought up recently that they might have found the cure for MS. It has to do with iron, the brain, etc. I told her that I am familiar with the treatment, and that I wrote about CCSVI. I also felt that CCSVI would not work. It is not well if even Eriksgirl will not read the blog! 🙂 The blog is mostly for me as a reference point so all is well.

After my talk with Eriksgirl I felt compelled to look up CCSVI to see where it stood today. Apparently, this is not new news but CCSVI is dead. I cannot say that I am surprised. I stand by what I said in my original post when writing on CCSVI that I liked that it was a novel treatment, and not suppress the immune system treatment all over again. Kudos to Zamboni for thinking outside of the box.

Another new drug for MS. What I find interesting about Ocrelizumab is that it was originally being tested as a drug for rheumatoid arthritis but stopped because of an “association” with infection. How far is it shutting down the immune system that it was causing infections? I would think this is a red flag for future cases of PML.

On the plus side taking Ocrelizumab only twice a year has to reduce the risks significantly for dangerous side effects. The article I saw compared it to the safety of Rebif, I am highly skeptical of that claim. Though if it is as safe as they claim it would be a great drug, and everything we had hoped for from Tysabri.

My co-worker is once again heading out to do the Multiple Sclerosis society MS 150 bike ride. I just wish I could walk a little better let alone do a long bike ride! 😉

From Chris

Why I Ride

At the Ride Marshal Kick off meeting last year, a MS Ambassador spoke. Her story illustrates why I put in the hours training on my bike, doing safety training for the riders and helping out where ever I can. The Ambassador was lifted on to the stage; there was no ramp for her wheelchair. She told her story about her fight with Multiple Sclerosis. She was not bitter or beaten down, in fact she was quite optimistic due to her spirit along with the assistance offered by the MS Society which she said made a big difference in her life. She ended by saying that she had just become a grandmother. She could not dance at her son’s wedding but was planning to be out of her wheelchair and dance at her grandchild’s wedding.

I was filling out a quick form on MS and it asked about treatments. I recognized all of them except one, Lemtrada. I thought wow I must have been living under a rock somewhere. Then a quick search and then I realized it is Campath with a new name. Apparently I was living under a rock since I missed the name change, etc., but now seems like a good time to revisit the drug.

I am glad I have the old information about the drug. It is now prescribed for relapsing-remitting types of patients who struggle on other drugs. What I find concerning is that, other than the drugs other horrible side effects, it kills oligodendrocytes which are key for myelin,and myelin repair. It makes me skeptocal of their claims, and peoples long-term outcomes. Bottom line it does not sound like an effective treatment that all but guarantees cancer, plus any number of other woes.

I went to my scheduled follow up appointment with my neurologist to discuss how the copaxone is going. Apparently not so great. I did not expect much so here I am. I expected to get another round of steroids, that I detest, but instead he prescribed physical therapy. Eriksgirl was pleased, and I am just glad it is not steroids.

Physical therapy has begun. I did learn some things that I did not expect about myself. I did not realize that my left leg was stronger than my right. I would assume this has to do with the exacerbation because my right leg was excessively weak under some of the tests compared to the left. Some of their activities are focused on my balance which is good. My balance has never been great, but it has now gotten to a very bad place. I am interested to see how far physical therapy can get me. Hopefully significantly better.